Dawn Marshall
https://www.texasneedsdawn.com/
What is the single most significant change you hope to make if elected?
I would have to say the first and most important is to introduce articles of impeachment with the votes to follow it through.
How do you define success for your term in office?
I define success as putting the government back together again. We are at a crossroads. This country has never been tested to this extent by the threat of a dictatorship and what we do today is crucial. Impeaching President Trump is the first step, the second is to bolster our institutional protections to make sure that future wannabe dictators would think twice about trying to overthrow our democracy. No one branch of our government was ever meant to be more powerful than the others. However, because the constitution was written in a way that it expected a “good faith” effort by all branches, there is no way to enforce it’s tenants except by direct action of the people. We need to implement the no kings legislation to rein in the the executive branch, establish ethics checks and balances for the judicial branch with possible term limits, and implement checks for the House and the Senate with term limits with ample room for interpretation of whether to keep institutional memory and/or term limits. I also believe that to reduce abuses of political campaigns, significant reforms are in order.
Which three issues are your top priorities?
The three most important issues that the people have asked for are: healthcare, education, and the rule of law. Healthcare is not a luxury; it is a right, and whether we establish a one-payer system such as medicare for all or some other system, it is imperative that this be put in place. People cannot afford quality healthcare, and what the current administration does not understand is that a healthy economy requires a healthy workforce. If we take care of our people, they will take care of the country, with less missed work, greater efficiency, and better returns on investment. Good health is a prerequisite for pursuing happiness, and a reasonable system of caring for our citizens is essential and critical. Additionally, the problem is not just an issue of insurance but also one of a lack of personnel. In short, we need more healthcare workers and safeguards to the institutions where they work. We lack both personnel and institutions in our rural areas. What we need is real money and infrastructure to create a national system. This ties into education. Our educational system is under attack. As a college professor, I am acutely aware of how the current administrations, both in Texas and nationwide are affecting education. I believe education to be truly the great leveler in our society. In that light, I do not believe that our taxes should be funneled away from public schools. Requiring the posting of the Ten Commandments in every room of every public school constitutes a clear violation of the Establishment Clause of the Constitution and yet another unfunded mandate. Charter schools and vouchers are simply another way to return to the practice of separate but equal. The way to improve our educational institutions is not through standardized testing or the compilation of scores that stifle the potential of students, but rather by providing the resources to meet the needs of each individual student. Because our colleges and universities have been established as institutions of free thought, they are under attack by the Trump administration. This is only the second step to the establishment of a dictatorship. The first step was to break the unions. Starting with Reagan and every decade thereafter, unions have slowly been undermined by the “Right to Work” rhetoric. The second step is to put pressure on college students and increase their debt levels to force them into compliance, then make finding a job difficult so they will be forced to stay at a job regardless of pay or growth potential. The third step is to undermine public education to reduce critical thinking. Fourth – cut deals with the rich, give them tax breaks, and eliminate regulations. Fifth and sixth, make people economically anxious, and angry, and convince them that all of their problems come from “the other.” Seventh and eighth, make them cynical of democracy and convince them that all they need is a powerful strongman to save them. Ninth, fill the airwaves with big lies, and tenth, get elected and take over (Taken from Robert Reich, https://www.marketwatch.com/story/a-10-step-plan-for-turning-a-democracy-into-a-dictatorship-from-robert-reich-2018-08-06, Accessed, 2/14/26). We are nearing the final step. The only thing stopping them is our courts and the sheer will of the people.
How will your policies directly impact everyday Americans?
If successful, the American people can stop dreading the news (such as it is – I would also put the SEC rule of equal time for points of view and back to facts), stop watching for ICE, and actually get the support from the government that they deserve. Government does not have to be huge to get the job done, but it does need to be efficient. We need to get back to the practice of putting the right people for the job into the job. Our country is the greatest country and the greatest experiment in history. We cannot allow it to fall.